World of Darkness MMO Revealed

The makers of hardcore space MMO EVE Online have a new project in the works, and this time they're setting their sights on horror. World of Darkness was announced at this weekend's Grand Masquerade convention in New Orleans, and is based (at least somewhat) on pen and paper role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: Requiem.

According to developers at CCP, the MMO will focus on "player politics and social interaction," which is logical, given the source material. Tabletop (and live-action) Masquerade and Requiem are not action games; instead, the focus is on story-telling, social interaction and mood. It's terribly gothy, and the success or failure of games like this tends to come from the commitment and creativity of the people you play with it. In other words, Vampire: The Masquerade is as hardcore as EVE: Online, but for a totally different crowd.

According to the reveal trailer shown at the con, the game takes place in a world run by immortal vampires who are "all around us, they control everything, they've always been here, waging their secret wars, devouring anything that stands in their way... cast out of Eden, each a font of undying power tortured by their boundless appetites. We belong to them."

Okay, I'm sold. Sadly, the earliest the game could hit shelves is in 2012.